Reich, Steve - dissertations and theses ASPECTS OF ORGANIZATION IN THE THE 'SEXTET' OF STEVE REICH. (107 pages) WARBURTON, DANIEL (Ph. D 1988, The University of Rochester, Eastman School of Music) Page 0011 in volume 49/01-A of Dissertation Abastacts International Though American Minimal Music currently enjoys a popularity perhaps unprecedented in the history of twentieth century contemporary art music, it has received comparatively little analytical attention. This paper proposes analytical approaches to deal with both the harmonic and rhythmic structure of a recent composition by leading minimalist composer Steve Reich, his "Sextet" for keyboards and percussion (written in 1984 and commissioned by the percussion ensemble Nexus and the Laura Dean Dancers and Musicians, with funds provided by the French Government). In our analysis we make use of techniques associated with the study of atonal music, derived from contemporary serial and set theory. The study also proposes a terminology more applicable to the whole corpus of minimal music (chapter 1), and attempts to resolve some of the philosophical problems that this music inevitably brings to light (chapter 4). LIMITS OF MUSICAL STRUCTURE. (238 pages) SWAIN, JOSEPH PETER (Ph. D 1983 Harvard University) Page 1623 in volume 44/06-A of Dissertation Abstracts International Musical compositions of the western tradition ar limited in their structural dimensions, and these constraints arise not so much from historical circumstance or tradition but from the material of the music itself. Fundamental strucural limits are set by internal workings of the music, which are a product of its style. The most tangible structural limit is the length of a composition and this, while a simple point in itself, profoundly influences the features of the composition. Just as the size of a canvas or plastar wall will influence the painter's choice of subject, number of figures, use of perspective, and other considerations, so will the length of time, the composer's canvas, shape the final work. The beginning of the thesis compares hierarchical views of music, chiefly of Schenker and Meyer, with a large body of evidence from cognitive psycology and linguistics suggesting that the human capacity to perceive abstract stimuli and language is limited, and that hierarchical mechanisms that organize these types of information are the principal means by which listeners can extend such capacity. Hierarchical models of musical structure thus attain a psychological validity if they are limited models allowing only three or four events on a given level, according to the evidence presented. The thesis then presents a limited heirarchical view of musical structure, and adopts this as a perspective in examining some traditional issues in music analysis and criticism: articulation and continuity, integration, pacing and proportion. These notions are defined in heirarchical terms, then applied to works of Josquin, Bach, Beethoven, Schubert, and Brahms in order to discover the effect of structural limits upon them, and more importantly, upon their interrelationships in composition. A WORK OF MINIMALIST COMPOSER STEVE REICH IS ALSO TREATED AS A SPECIAL TEST CASE FOR THE WHOLE IDEA OF STRUCTURAL LIMITS. The concluding chapter proposes that the perspective of structural limits is useful in analyzing musical style. The style theories of LaRue, Meyer, and Rosen are compared, with an eye toward the eventual development to a comprehensive theory of style. REPETITION AND THE DRIFT TOWARDS CONSTANT FOCUS IN THE PATTERN-PULSE WORKS OF TERRY RILEY AND STEVE REICH. (183 pages) KAM, DENNIS KOON MING (D.M.A. 1974 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) Page 7945 in volume 35/12-A of Dissertation Abstracts International Repetition has attained a regained status in recent music. Avoided or virtually guarded against in serial and aleatoric proceedures, it has, on on the other hand, been a primary feature in the pattern-pulse works of Terry Riley and Steve Reich. Two factors may be attributing constituents of a background for this resurgence of repetition: the reality of change in history and the pluralistic nature of the current art world. Features concomitant with or influenced by the utilyzation of repetition have been: simplicity, tonal implications, rhythmic regularity, music processes, gradual audible change, and a tendency towards macro-gestures. In effect, the extreme utilyzation of repetition in the works of Riley and Reich may be seen to have reinstated a focus in music--a focus that had become obscured or imperceptible as a result of complex serial and aleatoric compositional proceedures. This focus, characterized by a clear perceptibility of materials and processes, has been more concentrated than the foci merely provided by thematic materials or temporary focal points. Created by extreme repetiveness, focus in the music of Riley and Reich may be described as constant due to the resulting gradual change and the psychological perception on an expanded or continuing "present" in the time continuum. Constant focus, then, is smooth, continuous, and ever-present. In general, it may be concluded that the music of Riley and Reich reflects a strong interest in the listening or psychological experience. Put another way, what happens in the music occupies as much attention as what happens in the music. 12/88